Footwear



C. L. ROBINS April 17, 1962 FOOTWEAR Filed July 25, 1960 IN VEN TOR Claude L. Hob/n5 BY MXW United States 3,029,532 FOOTWEAR Claude L. Robins, New York, N.Y., assignor to Montgomery Ward & Co., Incorporated, Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Illinois Filed July 25, 1960, Ser. No. 45,016 2 Claims. (Cl. 36--50) This invention relates to an improved boot or shoe structure. More particularly, it relates to a watertight boot or shoe.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved boot or shoe construction in which all parts are secured together by watertight joints up to the topmost portion.

A further object is to provide such boot or shoe which comprises means for lacing the sides of the boot or shoe together across the front upper portion and a tongue or gusset extending between and secured to the sides and vamp by a watertight joint.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

In order that the invention may be better understood, reference is made to the accompanying drawing which forms a part of this specification and in which FIGURE 1 is a view in side elevation of a boot embodying the features of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the blank which forms the tongue or gusset of the boot shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the tongue or gusset ready for attachment to the remainder of the shoe; and

FIGURE 4 is a view in cross section on the line 44 in FIGURE 1.

Referring first to FIGURE. 1, it will be seen that it shows a boot or shoe comprising a vamp 12 of a conventional type secured in the usual way to a quarter 14 as by stitching 15. A second quarter (not shown) which is a mirror image of the quarter 14 is similarly secured to that quarter and to the vamp 12 in a well known way so as to position the forward edge 16 of the quarter 14 from the vamp 12 up to the top of the quarter in spaced relation to the vamp corresponding forward edge of the other quarter (not shown) so as to facilitate insertion and removal of a foot from the boot or shoe. The two quarters and the vamp in turn are secured to a sole 18 of any desired type in a well known manner. The form and manner of securing together the two quarters, the vamp and the sole as shown are merely illustrative, however. The invention is applicable to any boot or shoe construction previously known or otherwise in which there are a pair of spaced apart edges corresponding to the spaced edges of the quarters described above which permit the shoe to be put on or taken off and which are designed to receive a lace, tie or string to draw them together in the usual way to retain the shoe on a foot.

In accordance with the present invention a boot or shoe construction as above described, in which the joints between the various parts are preferably watertight, is provided with a guesset 20. FIGURE 2 shows the gusset 20 for the boot 10 illustrated as it appears when first formed.

To the gusset 20 in the form shown in FIGURE 2, there are attached a pair of reinforcing strips 22 and 24, preferably formed of the same leather used to form the body of the gusset 20. The reinforcing strips 22 and 24 which are shaped and positioned on the gusset 20, as indicated by the dotted outlines 26 and 28 in FIGURE 3, are secured to the inner face of gusset 20, for example, by means of a shoe cement of any desired type of which there are many now in common use.

Holes, such as hole 30 in FIGURE 4, in two series extending, respectively, lengthwise of and generally centrally of the reinforcing strips 22 and 24 are cut or punched through both the body of gusset 20 and the reinforcing strips to receive two series of hooks 32 and 34. The bases of the hooks 32 and 34 are then inserted in the openings so formed and clinched against the exposed faces of the reinforcing strips 22 and 24 as indicated at 36 in FIGURE 4.

When the hooks have been so secured to gusset 20, a small portion 38 (FIGURE 4) of the edge of the gusset is then folded under along both sides and across the bottom where it is to be secured to the vamp. The edge so folded under is indicated by the dotted line 40 in FIG- URE 3. The gusset 20 is then ready to be secured to the other parts of the boot or shoe 10. To this end, it is positioned as shown in FIGURE 1 and stitched to the two quarters and to the vamp 12 preferably by two rows of stitches 42 and 44'. The outer row 44 as may be seen passes through the portion 38 of the edge of gusset 20, which is folded under as described above to secure this fold in place.

The finished boot 10 as shown in FIGURE 1 with the gusset 20 extending out forwardly is ready to be put on. When the boot is in position on the foot, the gusset 20 is folded inwardly between the edges of the two quarters to which it is attached and the shoelace or shoestring 46 is laced from side to side under the hooks 32 and 34 in v the usual way and pulled up to draw the edges of the gusset 20 and of the two quarters in over the central portion of the gusset to secure the boot 10 firmly on the foot of the wearer.

As is well known, it is the usual practice to stitch the tongue or gusset of a boot or shoe on the inside or underside of the upper. In such constructions the means provided to receive a shoelace are positioned in holes extending through the shoe upper which permits water to pass through these openings so that the upper of the boot or shoe is not watertight. In accordance with the present invention, this disadvantage is avoided by anchor ing the hooks or other lace receiving means on the gusset 5 and securing the gusset to the outside of the boot or shoe upper. This has the distinct advantage of providing a i'shoe or boot which can be secured tightly on the foot ,by lacing and which is at the same time watertight all the way up to the top of the boot or shoe. Other ad- ,vantages of the invention will be apparent from the foregoing description.

The boot or shoe of the present invention may be made of any desired material but will ordinarily be constructed of leather. The gusset may be formed of material the same as or different from that used in the upper and when formed of leather is preferably, but not necessarily, formed of a somewhat softer leather than is used in the shoe upper.

It is apparent that many widely diiferent embodiments of this invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and therefore it is not intended to be limited except as indicated in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a boot or shoe, an upper having a pair of spaced apart forward edges, a gusset bridging the space between said edges and having marginal portions overlying and stitched to the outer face of the upper along said edges to provide a watertight closure for said upper, reinforcing strips secured on said marginal portions on the inner face of the gusset, hook means carried by said gusset for receiving a lace to draw portions of said edges of the upper toward each other and hold said upper in engagement with the instep of the wearer, said hook means comprising outwardly projecting hook portions and bases mounted in openings extending only through said marginal portions of the gusset and said reinforcing strips and clampingly engaging the outer face of the gusset and the inner face of the reinforcing strip, said gusset being stitched to the upper by a row of stitching adjacent its outer edge extending down one side across the lower end and up the opposite side and by additional stitching on each side of the gusset inwardly of the said hook means and passing through the upper, the reinforcing strip and said marginal portion of the gusset.

2. In a boot or shoe, an upper having a pair of spaced apart substantially imperforate forward edge portions, a gusset bridging the space between said forward edge portions and having marginal portions overlying and 4 secured to the outer face of said forward edge portions to provide a watertight closure for said upper, and means anchored in openings extending through said gusset marginal portions only for receiving a lace to draw said forward edge portions toward each other and hold said upper in engagement with the instep of the wearer.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Csont Nov. 18, 1930 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,130,658 France Oct. 1, 1956 

